Underclearer and mounting therefor in textile spinning, doubling, twisting, and like machines



Jan, 31, 1939. J 2,145,630

UNDERCLEARER AND MOUNTI TEXTILE SPINNING,

MACHINES PILLING NG THEREFOR IN DOUBLING, TWISTING, AND LIK Filed Feb. '17, 193

ni A n 5 Q 2% Patented Jan. 31, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE John Pilling, deceased,

late of Accrington, England, by Ada Gertrude Pilling, administratrix, Dartford, England, assignor to Howard and Bullough, Limited,

Accrington, Lancashire,

England, a British company Application February 17, 1938, Serial No. 191,104 In Great Britain February 18, 1937 7 Claims.

The invention has reference to underclearers and their mountings in textile spinning, doubling, twisting and like machines, and it has for its principal object to provide improved means for mounting one or more revolving or stationary underclearers in resilient contact with the drafting roller with which they are operatively associated, in such manner as will facilitate their removal before and reinstatement after cleaning, with a view to minimizing the amount of time during which the machine is stopped for that purpose. A further object of the invention is to provide improved means whereby more than one underclearer may be supported by the same mounting and adapted for speedy removal and replacement together. Other important advantages accruing from the present improvements will be apparent from the ensuing description.

According to the invention each underclearer or set of underclearers is mounted at each end upon a single cradle mounted with capability of oscillation in a vertical plane at right angles to the axes of the rollers upon a substantially vertical support urged upwardly by a resilient bearing member, the arrangement being such that the cradle may be brought into a position for cleaning by moving. said support downwardly and forwardly.

The invention is further characterized by the provision of means for locking the said cradlesupport against forward or rearward movement when the cradle is in the operative position.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one embodiment of the invention in its application to a high draft speed frame of known type, and Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of part of the drafting head of such a frame, showing the underclearers and their mounting in the operative position. Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the disposition of the parts when the underclearers are moved forwardly into the cleaning or stripping position.

It will be seen that the intermediate and front fluted rollers 3 and 4 are each furnished with an underclearer roll rotating in close contact with its underside. The reference numeral 5 designates the intermediate roll underclearer, and the numeral 6 that of the front roll. Both underclearers are supported by their respective endpivots 5|, 6| in open bearings, I, 8, formed in the upper surface of a cradle 9, one of such cradles being provided at either end of each set of underclearers. Each cradle 9 is loosely pivoted at I upon the upper extremity of a supporting leg II, which latter is mounted in a substantially vertical position and rests at its lower extremity in an open bearing I2 formed in one end of a fiat arm I3 secured at I4 to the roller-stand. By using spring steel or other similarly flexible material for the formation of the arm I3, the required resilience of the bearing of the leg I I may be obtained.

Where the cradle is required only to support a single underclearer, its shape will be suitably modified, but the manner of its support remains substantially identical with that of the cradle 9 as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

The form of connection between each cradle 9 and its supporting leg I I is such as to allow the former to oscillate in a fore-and-aft direction about its pivot to an extent suificient to accommodate any reasonable amount of waste fibres which may lap in an uneven fashion about the peripheries of the underclearers and 6, and the arrangement is such that the cradles 9 are resiliently urged by said spring-arms I3 upwardly so as to maintain the underclearers 5and 6 in yieldable contact with their respective drafting rollers 3 and 4.

The cradles 9 are adapted for use in instances where either or both of the underclearers is or are of the stationary or fixed-pad type. In most cases, the fixed clearer-pads may be detachably mounted in suitable sockets upon the cradle. The forward and rearward movements of the cradle-supporting leg II are controlled by a forwardly projecting arm l6 which is slotted at its inner end as shown at I1, and adapted to slide, within the limits determined by the length of said slot II, upon a stud I8 fixed upon the rollerstand. The arm I6 is pivoted at a point I9 at or near to its mid-point upon the cradle-supporting leg I I, and a recess or slot 2|] formed in the upper edge of the arm I6 is arranged to co-operate with a locking pin 2| fixed in the roller-stand, in such fashion that when said locking pin M is engaged in said recess or slot 20 the cradle-supporting leg I I is positively precluded from forward or rearward movement.

The said locking pin may be disengaged only by a downward movement of the arm I6 to the extent of the depth of the recess or slot 26, the leg II being depressed against the pressure of its resilient bearing spring I3. This action lowers the underclearers 5 and 6 (whether they be rollers 01' pads) out of operative contact with their drafting rollers 3 and I, so that the former may be brought into the position indicated in Fig. 2, in which they may be stripped and thoroughly cleaned in a convenient manner and without obstruction by other parts of the drafting head. To bring the underclearers into the cleaning position, it is merely necessary to depress the arms l6 until the recesses or slots 20 are clear of the locking pins 2|, when they may be drawn outwardly to the extent of the slots H, the cradlesupporting legs ll being pivoted about their respective bearings [2.

After cleaning, the underclearers may be restored to the operative position by pushing the arms l6 inwardly, when the upward pressure of the spring-arms I3 is sufiicient to ensure the reengagement of the locking devices as soon as the pins 2| are able to enter the slots 26.

The outer extremity of each controlling arm l6 may be furnished with a finger-piece for its easier manipulation, and in a modified arrangement (not shown) a number of adjacent controlling arms l6 may be connected together at their outer ends by means of a light rod or bar passing along the front of the roller-stand, so as to permit the cradles 9 thus inter-connected to be moved into the cleaning position simultaneously.

It will be understood that the locking device hereinbefore described afiects only the forward and rearward movement of the cradle-supporting legs II. The recess or slot 29 in the controlling arm l6, which co-operates with the locking pin 2| to prevent such movements, is sufiiciently deep to permit a considerable range of motion to the said arm H3 in a vertical direction, thus leaving the up-and-down movement of the cradle-supporting leg I! under the resilient pressure of its spring [3 totally unhampered.

It will be evident that the use of means in accordance with this invention for the combined mounting of two underclearers side by side, and for enabling their simultaneous withdrawal and reinsertion, is of considerable advantage, since it greatly reduces the amount of time which would otherwise have been occupied by the task of cleaning and replacing both underclearers independently of each other.

It is known in the art it has previously been proposed to mount an underclearer pad, of the kind requiring a reciprocatory motion below the rollers, in a single cradle pivotally mounted so that it can be turned on its pivots from underneath the rollers and acted upon by springs so as to press the clearer into contact with the rollers.

It is also known in the art that single underclearer rolls have been mounted between resilient supports, and adapted by pressure on said supports to be moved out of the operative position for cleaning purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. In a textile machine of the class described including a roller and an underclearer therefor, means for resiliently mounting said underclearer whereby the latter may be brought out of operative position for cleaning, comprising a cradle for said underclearer, supporting means connected to said cradle and adapted to be moved down wardly and forwardly to oscillate said cradle in a vertical plane at right angles to the axis of said roller, and a resilient member urging said supporting means upwardly for normally maintaining said underclearer in operative position with said roller.

2. An underclearer mounting as claimed in claim 1 including a controlling arm on said supporting means for actuating the latter, said arm extending forwardly to a position clear of the other parts of the machine.

3. In a textile machine of the class described including a roller and an underclearer therefor, means for resiliently mounting said underclearer whereby the latter may be brought out of operative position for cleaning, comprising a cradle for said underclearer, vertical supporting means pivotally connected to said cradle, a controlling arm on said vertical supporting means for moving the latter downwardly, forwardly and rearwardly to oscillate said cradle in a vertical plane at right angles to the axis of said roller, resilient means supporting said vertical supporting means and urging the latter in an upward direction for normally maintaining said underclearer in operative position, and latch means effective when said underclearer is in normal operative position, for preventing forward and rearward movement of said vertical supporting means.

4. In a textile machine of the class described including a roller and an underclearer therefor, means for resiliently mounting said underclearer whereby the latter may be brought out of operative position for cleaning, comprising a cradle for said underclearer, an upstanding leg pivotally connected at one end to said cradle, a controlling arm on said leg for moving the latter downwardly, forwardly and rearwardly to oscillate said cradle in a vertical plane at right angles to the axis of said roller, a resilient arm fixed at one end to the roller stand of said machine, an open bearing on the other end of said arm supporting the lower end of said upstanding leg and urging the latter in an upward direction for normally maintaining said underclearer in operative position, and means for limiting the forward and rearward movements of said controlling arm,

5. An underclearer mounting as claimed in claim 4 wherein said last named means comprises cess in said controlling arm, and a locking pin fixed on the roller stand of said machine, adapted to engage in said recess when said controlling arm is in normal upper and rearward position.

'7. In a textile machine of the class described including a plurality of rollers and a set of underclearers therefor, means for resiliently mounting said underclearers whereby the latter may be brought out of operative position for cleaning, comprising a single cradle for said set of underclearers, vertical supporting means connected to said cradle and adapted to be moved downwardly and forwardly to oscillate said cradle in a vertical plane at right angles to the axes of said rollers, and a resilient member urging said vertical supporting means upwardly for normally maintaining said set of underclearers in operative position with said rollers.

ADA GERTRUDE FILLING.

Administratria: of the Estate of John Filling,

Deceased. 

